Editorial - 14-6

The federal government's decision to examine the pressing issue of research overhead costs should come as very welcome news and a huge relief to the academic community. As our story on page 6 explains, the Advisory Council on Science and Technology has been requested to report to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Union this fall, presumably for consideration in next year's Budget.

The move to study the overhead costs associated with federally funded research comes not a moment too soon. The massive Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) is gearing up to flood Canadian universities with hundreds of new research chairs, dramatically increasing financial pressure on the institutions and the granting councils that fund them (see lead story). Each new chair only increases the requirement for fresh operating and overhead funds - money that's in increasingly short supply these days.

Other levels of government have already begun to tackle the problem. But the bulk of university-based research is funded by Ottawa, and until the federal government comes to terms with the true cost of research overhead, a dismal situation will only get worse.

New federal research programs aren't as welcome as they were just a few years ago. VPs research across the land now jokingly dread the announcement of new 'Big C' programs, for 'Capital' only addresses one element of the increasingly expensive research enterprise.

This isn't a particularly complex issue. It's time to recognize the need for research overhead funding and be done with it.

Mark Henderson, Managing Editor